Method Description Advantages and Disadvantages Key Resources

Indirect estimation

In vitro incubation
Incubation of rumen inoculum with feed
substrate under anaerobic conditions and
subsequent analysis of headspace for CH4
concentration of GC
Only measures gas output
Dijkstra et al. 2005
Menke et al. 1979
Pell and Schofield 1993
Theodorou et al. 1994
Cone et al. 1996
Estimation from diet

Diet quality or feed
fractions
Intake inferred from energy requirement based
on published values
Requires multiple measurement across
seasons, feed qualities, feed quantities
Jamieson and Hodgson 1979
Henricksen and Minson 1980
Direct measurement

Open-circuit respiration
chambers
Animals placed in individual respiration
chambers. Can control environmental
conditions. Can monitor inputs and outputs.
High-tech, high cost, limited sample size, high
accuracy for specific conditions. Animal
movement is restricted and not representative
of field conditions
McGinn et al. 2008
Klein and Wright 2006
Tomkins et al. 2011
Vented hood system
Placement of hood over the animal's head and
measurement of inputs and outputs.
More mobility, high tech, high cost, limited to
enteric methanogenesis.
Suzuki et al. 2007, 2008
Place et al. 2011
Odongo et al. 2007
Fernandez et al. 2012
Poly tunnel
Individual or small groups of animals allowed
to graze under semi-normal conditions. Air
measured through exhaust port either
manually or via automated sampling system.
Requires frequent calibration, can measure
CH4 under semi-normal conditions, portable.
Cannot capture feed intake precisely.
Murray et al. 2001
Lockyer and Jarvis 1995
Lockyer 1997
SF6 tracer technique
Air from animal's muzzle and mouth drawn into
evacuated canister measuring exhaled air from
individual animals
High within- and between-animal variation.
Animals are mobile and can graze on test
pastures. Less precise, robust, and more
labor-intensive than respiration chambers.
Johnson et al. 1994
Goopy and Hegarty 2004
Grainger et al. 2010
Ramirez-Restrepo et al. 2010
Open-path laser
Whole-farm methane measurements sing
infrared diode lasers. The laser beams into a
reflector in a direct path and then reflected
back to a detector. Intensity of light received is
proxy for CH4.
Continuous measurement required.
Dependent on environmental factors and
location of test animals. Issues with wind,
uneven herd distribution. Doesn't interfere with
normal grazing behavior, low labor intensity,
but very expensive.
McGinn 2006, 2008
Flesch et al. 2005, 2007
Loh et al. 2008
Denmead 2008
Tomkins et al. 2011
Laubach and Kelliher 2005
Gao et al. 2011